By Connie Borden, Shintaido of America President
As a year ends, it is often time to reflect on what has been accomplished. Here are some highlights from Shintaido of America for 2024.
2024 was a year of transitions, starting with the death of Ito Sensei at the end of December 2023. Shintaido of America held a ZOOM Celebration of Life for Ito Sensei along with our international community from the UK, France, Germany, Czech Republic and Italy
Shintaido of America gained new SOA Board Members – Jim Sterling and David Palmer. Sandra Bengtsson agreed to be Acting Treasurer. At the end of the year, Nancy Billias completed 12 years of service on the SOA board to live full time in the UK. Doshu Michael Thompson stepped down from his role on the SOA Board.
After Dokan ’24, held in August in the UK, we saw the transition to Karate Godan & Shintaido General Instructor for Shin Aoki, Yondan Karate for David Franklin, Yondan Bojutsu for Robert Gaston and Jennifer Peringer, Shintaido Senior Instructors for Byron Russell and Margaret Guay, Shintaido Graduate for Heather Kuhn, and an appointment to Doshu for Connie Borden.
With the leadership of Robert Gaston as NTC Chair, Shintaido of America saw more keiko and workshops. Rob traveled to France to learn the newest boh kata and returned to teach a workshop in the SF Bay Area. Byron and Margaret in their new roles lead a one-day workshop in the SNE Region and are planning monthly keikos. Jennifer Peringer added students to her Monday Boh class and started a Thursday Karate class. Rob added a Tuesday night Shintaido class. Connie is piloting a Wednesday afternoon class on ZOOM to practice Shintaido. Shin Aoki has been invited to teach at the UK Daienshu in April of 2025. Lee Ordemann has had two successful Shintaido programs at a local library.
Plans for 2025 are developing with the SOA Board considering offering the Global Taimyo Community fiscal sponsorship. This will have the benefit of stability for GTC. Look for announcements about the one-week Taimyo program for July 2025. Our Shintaido of America YouTube continues to grow with published videos so check in 2025 for new releases. 2026 is in the planning stages for SOA as 2026 is the 50th Anniversary of the founding of Shintaido of America.
Here are the Board Members and Officers of Shintaido of America
BOARD MEMBERS – voting (as of December 2024)
Connie Borden, President
David Franklin, Podcast
Robert Gaston, NTC Chairperson
David Palmer, member at large
Laura Sheehan Barron, member at large
Jim Sterling, Editor Body Dialogue
BOARD OFFICERS – non-voting (as of Mar 2024)
Sandra Bengtsson, Treasurer
Chris Ikeda-Nash, Financial Officer
Robert Kedoin, Webmaster
